International pressings of Korean music 해외에서 제작된 한국 음악

Having realized the extent of what was released/pressed on vinyl in South Korea (from late the 50s to circ. 1994) just by Korean artists alone (not accounting for releases by international artists) I’ve decided to focus my own collecting predominantly on international pressings of Korean artists and Korean music.

Even simply concentrating on collecting international pressings (non-Korean pressings) of Korean music artists and Korean music leaves me open to having to find/buy a vast amount of items. Therefore, as follows are my priorities in this endeavour.

Original international pressings by significant or musically interesting Korean artists. Music groups/artists such as The Kim Sisters, Patti Kim, etc. Being honest, I generally prefer female artists because I like female vocals and I like the pictures on the LP covers. I am most interested in pre-1975 releases, including pre 1970 Japanese releases.

Original international pressings of traditional Korean folk music with a strong preference for very early releases. Records such as the Korean music releases of the legendary Ethnic Folkways series (circ. 1951 – late 60s) fall into this category. I am most interested in the early pre 1965 releases.

International pressing re-issues of classic South Korean 1960s/70s music which are themselves becoming increasingly scarce due to their often limited pressing runs. Artists such as Shin Jung-hyeon (신중현) and Kim Jung-mi(김정미) come to mind.

The small assortment of international vinyl releases produced post 1994 by indie alternative bands, and some punk/metal bands and hip hop musicians.

1970s and 1980s Japanese pressings of Korean artists. During the 1980s a significant number of Korean artists relocated to Japan to tap into the market for ‘Enka’ music. There are a great number of Japanese releases of Korean artists singing in this style, both on LP and 7 inch singles.

Releases by 1980s Korean groups such as Koreana and Kimera who released singles and albums in the U.K. and Europe.

Lastly, the somewhat vast selection of international pressings by the likes of the Korean Orphans Choir and The Little Angels. I’m actually quite intrigued by the way these Koreans pioneered the spread of Korean generated music outside of Korea. Much of the international releases by such music artists are religious in nature and often on US Christian labels such as Word and so on. But there are quite a lot of them and they are not a high priority for me.

There is also of course classical music. As far as international pressings of Korean musicians goes Kyung-wha Chung is by far the most significant artist. I have decided to concentrate on picking up her early UK Decca releases over time, specifically the Decca SXL series pressings.